ETHNIC HUNGARIANS IN

EX-YUGOSLAVIA

S.O.S. TRANSYLVANIA – GENEVA COMMITTEE

April 1993

Ottawa

Table of Contents

Introduction

Map of Republics and autonomous territories of former Yugoslavia. . . . . . … . 5 Part I: Baranja/Baranya , . . . …. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ……. 6

Expulsion and execut.on of Hungarians and Croatians. . . . . . . .. .……………..6 Geo-politicalHlstory of Baranja/Baranya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ……..….. .10

Part II: Vojvodina/Bacska and Banat ……………………………………………...……11 Letter to the President of Serbia from Andras Agoston …………………...…..12 Letter of the Leaders of the VMDK to the Serbian Parliament. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Hungarian language education in the Vojvodina/Bacska and Banat ………….15 Law of the Republic of Serbia concerning official language use. . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Amnesty International Alert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . 19 Declaration of the Human Rights \Committee of the

Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Vojvodina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Geo-politicalhlstory of Vojvodina/Bacska and Banat ………………………….21 Ethnic composition of Vojvodina/Bacska and Banat …………………………..26 Map1. The ethnic composition in the 11th century …………………………….28 Map 2. The ethnic composItion in the 15th century. . . . . . . . . . . . . ………… . 29 Map3.The ethnic composition in1981 ………………………………………….30

Part III: Historicalnotes …………………………………………………………………...31 Geopolitical Hlstory of Croatia …………………………………………………31 Geopolitical History of Serbia…………………………………………..………35

Historical maps of Europe from1250 to 1920

Map 4. Europe in 1250………………………………………………………… 41

Map 5 Europe in 1500…………………………………………………………..42

Map 6. Europe in 1648 ………………………………………………………….43

Map 7 Europe in 1750………………………………………………………….44 Map 8. The constituent parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. . . . . . ……….. 45 Map9.Europe in 1815 …………………………………………………………..46 Map 10. Europe in 1885 ………………………………………………………...47 Map 11. The split of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I ……….. 48 Map of “Great Serbia” – Serbian territorial claims……………………………...49 Hungarians in Yugoslavia, Croatis and Sovenia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ………...…50 Hungarians in Hungary and surrounding countries (present) . . . ………………. 51 Appendix I……………………………………………………………………….52 Appendix II: Partisans. Heroes or Villains……………………………………….54 Endnotes………………………………………………………………...………...56

Introduction

The tragedy of Croatia clearly indicates that many post World War I mistakes must be rectified. In order for all of Europe's peoples to live in peace and harmony, the political, social and economic structures must be addressed. The recognition of Croatia and Slovenia as independent states is a step in that direction. Recent events in these countries further serve to demonstrate, that, in the final analysis, neither hostile political agendas, military action, economic pressures nor lack of Western support can prevent people from exercising their right to self-determination.

It has become equally obvious that the solution to the region's minority problem is a sine qua non for achieving lasting stability and peace. And yet, while the approximately half a million Hungarians of ex-Yugoslavia face discrimination, persecution, violence and even genocide, their plight receives little attention from those who claim to have an outstanding human rights records. In the interest of peace, the international community must insist that minority rights be respected everywhere, including Serbia, Vojvodina and Kosovo, and not only in Croatia, where the question was regarded as a prerequisite to being recognized as an independent State. Since a large segment of the Hungarians of the former Yugoslavia, the majority, live in the section of Vojvodina, and a small group remains in Baranja, their respective status should be examined, under two different frames of reference. "Baranja” is currently under Serbian occupation. Several villages, both Croatian and Hungarian, have a been destroyed, a large number of people have been killed, and of the survivors, many have had to flee to - neighboring Hungary. Meanwhile, the authorities have begun settling , thousands of Serbian families on the properties of those who have either

1 been executed, or who, fearing for r their lives, have fled the area. In other words, the region's ethnic ; composition is being artificially : altered as part of a plan that employs dirty tactics to increase Serbia's territory. Therefore, it is imperative that the international community exercise its authority in enforcing the Helsinki Accords, which permit border changes only if no violence is involved. To this end, the United Nations peacekeepers deployed in the region must utilize their power to stop the forced resettlement of the population and make possible the safe return and the recovery of properties to all those who have been forced to leave the region, regardless of their ethnic origins.

Though Vojvodina is not a war zone, many similarities can be seen in the treatment of the Hungarian community. The Serbian authorities use threats of violence,

3

brutality, imprisonment and intimidation in order to induce Hungarians to leave the region. Thousands of Serbian families are being brought in to alter the ethnic composition of Vojvodina. Hungarians have declared their op- position to the Serbo-Croatian war from the beginning. Yet, they continue to be drafted into the Serbian army in proportionally larger numbers than Serbs, and are among the first to be sent to the front line. Of the 140,000 draftees of Serbia, 82,000 come from the Vojvodina, 14,000 of who belong to the Hungarian community. Furthermore, Hungarian cultural institutions are being impounded and various minority rights, including those related to the use of language, are routinely denied. After World War I, when, without permitting the population to express its will, the victorious powers detached Vojvodina and Baranja from Hungary, the international community guaranteed the safeguarding of the rights of those ethnic groups, which, despite forming 75% of Vojvodina's and Baranja's population, became ethnic minorities. These ethnic groups, among them the Hungarians, are now fighting not only for their human rights, but also for their very existence. It is therefore the moral duty of the international community to safeguard the human rights of those whom they placed in this situation against their will. Unfortunately, the reaction of the international community to the Croatian crisis has not only been slow but misguided. It reveals tl1at re Europe is more interested in maintaining the statusquo. Even if a. this means the continued subjugation and suffering of nations, than in taking the painful steps for laying the foundations for a lasting peace. It also reveals that Europe is ready to have the formerly communist 19 countries turn into quasi dictatorships, instead of democracies, if they continue to uphold those ideas, which, were imposed on the region 70 years ago. The insufficient attention paid, the fate of Vojvodina's and Baranya's Hungarian community also raises some disquieting questions. What value is placed upon the security and well-being of half a million people? If such a "small" group does not merit, international consideration, would the : international conscience be more active in the case of the two to three million-strong Hungarian community in Transylvania? - The international community, must recognize that intolerable s situations inevitably lead to the outbreak of conflict. It must also know that its own stability and peace, may be threatened in the long run. It is therefore in the interest of the , entire global community to make some bold political moves which, would rectify past mistakes, safeguard the respect of human rights for all minorities and guarantee all nations and ethnic groups the full right to self-determination.

Geneva, January 1992

S.O.S. Transylvania-Geneva Committee

4

5

Part I: Baranja/Baranya

Since the outbreak of the Serbo-Croatian war in 1991 minorities in Baranja have suffered

serious human rights violations including brutality, torture' assassination, destruction or confiscation of property, intimidation and expulsions. Several thousand have had to flee in order to save their lives. This once peaceful multiethnic region, which from 896 to 1920 formed an integral part of Hungary , is now occupied by Serbia, which is settling thousands of Serbian families in the homes of the former occupants, whom it has forcibly displaced.

It is of utmost urgency for the international community to stop this artificial modification of the region's ethnic composition, and to ensure the safe return of the population that was living there before the outbreak of the war.

Expulsion and assassination of Hungarians and Croatians in the Baranja

(Baranya) Triangle*1

In Croatia ethnic Hungarians number approximately 40,000. Their most compact settlements are in the Baranja Triangle, which is bounded by the Hungarian border and two rivers, the Danube and the Drava. This region is now occupied by the Serbs.

According to the official population census, in 1991, this area was inhabited by 19;310 Croats, 12,857 Serbs, 9,920 Hungarians and by roughly 12,000 persons of such different nationalities as Slovens, Albanians, Bosnians and Germans. In addition to those who declared themselves Hungarian, 2,000 named Hungarian as their mother tongue. Estimates indicate some 12,000 Hungarians living mainly in the Hungarian villages of Batina (897 Hungarians), Vorosmart (1,390), Csuza (780), Sepse (488), Nagybodolya(243), Ko (108), Lasko (941), Vardaroc{589), Kopacs (566): Ujbezdan (411), Darazs (114), Hercegszo1los (380) and Pelmonostor {623). The remaining 4,500 Hungarians were living in ethnically mixed villages such as Darda, Bellye, Metzo; Marok, Keskenyerdo, Karants and Cukorgyar (an outlying area of Pelmonostor).

Between Septemher and December of 1991 roughly 35,000 persons left the region. Among these were 7,000 Hungarians, including 80% of the Hungarian intellectual elite of Baranja (of the region's 125 Hungarian teachers, 11 kindergarten nurses, 55 primary school teachers, 8 high school teachers and.2 counsellors are presently in Hungary as refugees. The list of Hungarian scbols

6

in Baranja that have closed due to a lack of both teachers and students includes Zmajevac/Vorosmart, Lug/Lasko, Novi Bezdan/Ujbezdan, Vardarac/ Vardaroc, Kopacevo/Kopacs, Suza/Csuza, Podolje/Nagybodolya and Kotlina/Sepse.

The number of those killed in military action is estimated to be 1,000. In addition to these, 45 persons are said to have been kidnapped and 68 executed by members of the Serbian army and a vo1unteer organization known as the Chetniks*2. Upon a closer examination of existing data, the True March Group found evidence of 10 kidnapping and 25 executions. Their names and other pertinent information regarding such persons is on file in the so-called "White Book"3 -

The occupying Serbian army and the Chetnik marauders began a forced modification of the region's ethnic composition as early as September of 1991 through the expulsion, intimidation, beating, mutilation and execution of people. They settled Serbian families into the houses of those whom they had forced to flee. These families came chiefly from Bjelovar/Belovar and Virovitica/Veroce.

During the Christmas holidays of 1991, the occupying Yugoslav army stepped up its hostilities with the help of the Chetniks. Not only did they shell Osijek/Eszek and the surrounding vi1lages with renewed force, but they came up with a new method of inducing the local population to leave. They offered all non-Serbian individuals and families the possibility of leaving the region if they would agree to sign a paper relinquishing all of their possessions to the Yugoslav authorities. In order to increase the number of those who would thus "voluntarily" leave the region, the Serbs shelled the houses of ethnic Hungarians during the night. As a direct result of this intimidation, 30 families left the region, among them Croatians who later returned to other parts of Croatia via Hungary, while the ethnic Hungarian families from this group went to Austria or Germany. Most of these Hungarians had worked in these countries as guest-labourers and upon retirement, they had returned to Baranja and had used their savings to buy a house in their home town, only to be viciously ousted by Serbian settlers in exchange for their lives. The Serbian officials responsible for this injustice are known to the community. Fuhhermore this is not the first time that Serbians have forcibly tampered with the region's ethnic composition through criminal acts. Similar atrocities also took place in 1945, when using the wartime confusion behind the front line to their advantage, they executed 21 leading Hungarians in Baranja. It is still not permitted to excavate the victims' tombs, despite the fact that their exact location, for instance the site of father Farago' s tomb and that of the two persons executed together with him in

7

Hercegszollos/Knezevi Vinogradi, is well known. Behind these acts lie the

notions of pan-slavism and pravos- lavism as well a.~ religious intolerance and extreme nationalism. The following list of expelled, beaten, tortured and executed persons is taken from the "White book" of the True March Group, the first part of which was completed in Osijek, on January 1st, 1992. This book contains the names and professions of those who, for reasons of ethnic origin or their anti-Communist role in the course of the democratic transformations, became the victims of these atrocities, as well as the names of the perpetrators who denounced them, or approved their execution and/or who actually carried out interrogations, torture and executions. The list of victims only includes those whose suffering or execution has formally been proven. For the sake of greater statistical clarity, the following contains only the numbers and the ethnic origin of the victims. The .victims' actual names as well as the names of the perpetrators of these crimes are available from the editor upon request.

Batina - of the 1,645 inhabitants of this village, 821 have fled the region. - 9 persons, 7 of them together with their families, were expelled from Batina (1 Slovene, 2 Croats and 6 Hungarians). Their goods were confiscated and their houses were occupied by the Serbs; - 5 persons (1 Croat and 4 Hungarians) were subjected to interrogation and torture; - 4 Croats were deported and are now missing.

Draz - of the 650 inhabitants, 450 have fled the region. - 11 persons, (of which 7 Croats and 3 Hungarians) were tortured and chased from the village; - 1 Hungarian, who had worked as a policeman at the border, was killed.

Kotlina/Sepse - of the 581 inhabitants 280 have fled the region. - 2 Hungarian farmers, one of whom was the Chairman of the local section of the Hungarian People's Party in Croatia, were beaten, crossexamined and chased from the village: 1 Hungarian was interrogated, tortured and deported. Mr. Ervin Bacsa, the Mayor of the village, was killed.

Knezevi Vinogradi/Hercegszollos - of the 3,580 inhabitants 1,100 have fled the region. - 3 persons, of whom two together with their families (1 Croat and 2 Hungarians) were chased from the village. Their goods were confiscated and their houses occupied by the Serbs; - 3 Croats were executed. 8

Beli. Manastir/Pelmonostor: - 3,400 inhabitants of this city have. fled the region. - 3 Hungarians, one of whom together with his family, were driven out by force: - 4 persons (2 Hungarians and 2 Croats) were executed.

Zmajevac/Vorosmart: - of the 1,523 inhabitants of this village 1,100 have fled the region. - 8 Hungarian families were chased from the village, their goods were confiscated and their houses occupied by the Serbs; - the Hungarian Mayor of the village and the ex-director of the Hungarian school were interrogated and tortured. - 3 persons (2 Hungarians and 1 Croat) have disappeared; - 50,000 DM has been offered to the person who would kill Mr. Jozsef Csorgits, because he has served as President of both the Hungarian. People's Party in Croatia and the Association of Hungarians in Croatia. His wife suffers the same fate because she has been the President of the Baranja section of the same party. Although they have fled abroad together with their two children, hired assassins continue to search for them. Their goods have been seized and handed to the Serbs who now occupy their house. Their parents are not authorized to leave the village.

Lug/Lasko - of the 1,446 inhabitants, 650 have fled. - 3 Hungarians, two of whom together with their families, were forced to .leave; - the Hungarian pastor of the village was tortured.

Bilje - of the 2,200 inhabitants, only the 300 Serbians remained in the village. - 3 Hungarian families were driven out by force. - 9 Hungarians were executed, one of them together with his wife and grandson.

Darda - only the Serbian inhabitants of the village have remained. -5 Hungarian families were expelled; - 1 Hungarian was executed.

Kopacevo/Kopacs - of the 820 inhabitants, 600 have fled the village. - 2 Hungarian families were driven out by force. Among these was the family of Maria Buzsieska, who had been a member of the Presidency of the Hungarian People's Party in Croatia, and who, in the course of the democratic changes, spoke out against a military solution to the problem: - 6 persons {2 Croats and 4 Hungarians) were beaten and tortured; - 2 Hungarians were interrogated, torturedand then deported; - 3 persons (2 Croats and 1 Hungarian) were executed. 9

Branjiu/Voh - 2 Croats were executed by hanging.

Suza/Csuza - 10 Hungarians, 7 of whom together with their families, were expelled. Their houses were looted. - 1 Croat and 1 Hungarian were deported and are now missing.

Geo-political History of Baranja/Baranya

The Baranya Triangle is a rich agricultural land bordered by the Danube river to the east, the Drava river to the southwest and the Hungarian-Yugoslav border to the north. Its area is roughly 1,150 square kilometres .(450 sq. miles). Its population does not exceed 55,000 people. For such a small area, Baranja/Baranya has a complex history and a fairly mixed population. From 896 right up to the end of the First World War the Baranya Triangle was part of the historic Kingdom of Hungary. Its very name shows that it had formed part of Baranya County - most of which still exists under that name just across the border in Hungary. Much of Hungary (including all of Baranya County), however, had the unfortunate experience of being under Turkish occupation during the 16th and 17th centuries. The brutal nature of this occupation led to an extreme depopulation of the countryside, a depopulation that after the liberation from the Turks was remedied by massive immigration of people from allover the Habsburg dominions. This resulted in ethnically mixed regions, particularly in the south of Hungary, a situation that marks the area to this day. In World War I, the ethnic distribution of the Baranya Triangle was, approximately: 10% Hungarian, 30% German, the remainder being Croat, Serb and Bunyevatsi. After the war, the Trianon Peace Treaty that destroyed historic Hungary awarded the Baranya Triangle (without considering the wishes of its inhabitants) to the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed Yugoslavia). During World War II, Hungary regained this southern part of its Baranya County (in 1941), only to lose it again to Yugoslavia in 1945. Within the federal structure established in post-war Yugoslavia, the Baranya Triangle became part of the Republic of Croatia. While there had been no major ethnic shifts in the area between the world wars, there were many changes afterwards. The German-speaking inhabitants were practically expelled to Germany, and there was a heavy influx of Croats, as well as of other Slavs from the south (Serbs, Montenegrins etc.). Croats, rather than Hungarians, became the largest ethnic group. 10

PART II: Vojvodina/ Bacska and Banat

The roughly half a million strong Hungarian population of Vojvodina repeatedly manifested its opposition to a war in which it had no stake and which it considered detrimental to everyone. In spite of this, Hungarians have been forced to participate in it, in proportionally larger numbers than Serbians. Those who openly protested against the war were subjected to intimidations, brutalities and imprisonment. Knowing that they would be the first to be sent to the front lines (on the side of the so-called federal army, every fifth draftee kil1ed in action was a Hungarian) 20,000 mainly young Hungarians have fled the region. Their property was immediately confiscated by newly settled Serbian families. This was part of the Government's artificial modification of the ethnic composition of Vojvodina.

In addition to the discrimination directly resulting from the war, the Hungarians in Vojvodina suffer various other human rights violations. The language law of 1991 contains provisions which curtail the use of Hungarian and the use of Latin script. Cultural institutions are being confiscated, Hungarian newspapers are forced to accept chief editors, whose command of the Hungarian language is extremely limited and the demand for more Hungarian language educational institutions at all levels is refused.

All signs indicate that Serbia is engaging in an. artificial homogenization of Vojvodina's population, a task, which neither large-scale exterminations, nor work-camps could achieve since the territory was cut off from Hungary in 1920. At that time only 25,2 % of its population belonged to the Serbian nation.

11

Letter to the President of Serbia, Svobodan Milosevic from Andras Agoston,

President of the Democratic Association of Hungarians in Vojvodina

Mr. President,

I wish to inform you that in the opinion of the presidency of the Democratic Association of Hungarians in Vojvodina*4, a forced modification of the population's ethnic composition is under way. According to our records, this year more than 10,000 Hungarians have left Vojvodina, not of their own will, but as refugees. They were mostly young people with their families. - Most of them left because they could no longer tolerate the fearful atmosphere of pressure and intimidation that weighed heavily on the entire Hungarian population of Vojvodina.

I know that there is a civil war going on, which is even worse and even dirtier than a normal war, and in which everyone has to make sacrifices. However, certain circumstances and facts indicate that the particular problem of the Hungarians in Vojvodina derives from the simple fact that they are Hungarian. For this reason, their departure is not temporary but in most cases definitive and painful.

First of all, their collective ethnic rights, which, in earlier days were to a large extent respected, have now been dramatically limited. The great majority of Hungarians can no longer listen to the AM radio program "Radio Ujvidek"*5. As for the editorial staff at the Ujvidek television station, most serve the party in power and therefore fail to defend the interests of the Hungarians in Vojvodina, who in turn no longer consider them as their own people. The Party is planning to expropriate the daily newspaper "Magyar Szo"*6 under the pretext that it no longer enjoys the confidence of the Hungarian population. Opportunities for Hungarians to be educated in their native language continue to be greatly curtailed. In an Ujvidek (Novi Sad) secondary school, 28 students who had asked for a Hungarian class were denied their request. Many buildings destined for the use of institutions to promote culture or for voluntary associations are now being expropriated. The newly promulgated law concerning the use of languages has practically eliminated the use of Hungarian in public life. The customary use of language is disregarded even on signs indicating the name of a locality.

The army propaganda of the Republic of Serbia employs the media to depict Hungarians as a group of cowards, fifth-columnists and undesirables. They describe our only

12

legitimate organization, the VMDK and its leading members, as hostile

elements, whose only aim is to take part in a war against Serbia and the Serbian population.

The worst manifestation of this propaganda consists of threats to use brutality and arms. This has a destructive effect especially in view of the fact that the Hungarians in the Vojvodina are unarmed and do not wish to be armed.

The situation has become particularly difficult after an undeclared, implemented mobilization. The Hungarians are convinced that, in proportion to the total population of Serbia, more Hungarians were mobilized than Serbs. They are bitter because their fundamental human right not to take part in a civil war against their will is not being respected. They were also shocked by the fact that up to the 25th of September, 1991, one fifth of all the casualties among federal army troops recruited from the Republic of Serbia were Hungarians.

Mr. President,

You know this perfectly well, but since we are now at a historical turning point, I wish to reiterate that the VMDK is a democratic organization which zealously represents the interests of the Hungarians in Vojvodina, but at no time, not even under the present circumstances, has it wished any harm to the Serbian people. The Hungarians have nothing to gain from the suffering of the Serbian people. Moreover, in accordance with the Charter of Paris, they believe that at the end of the 20th century there should be no problems which cannot be solved peacefully, whether in Yugoslavia or in Europe as a whole. This determination leads Hungarians to take an active part in peace movements despite institutionalized persecution and sanctions. Nevertheless, Hungarians do not avoid military service any more than Serbian young men.

This reveals that there is a need to discuss the Hungarian question openly and at an appropriate level. The VMDK, the only legitimate representative of the Hungarians, is convinced that the problem of the Hungarians in Serbia remains unresolved. However, in laying the foundations for democratic societies, these problems could be solved by creating a form of local self-government, which would guarantee Hungarian autonomy in matters of education, culture and information without questioning the sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia. The application of a democratic model in resolving salient questions, such as the relationship between nations, serves the interest of the Serbian people as well. Those of us who live in this geographic area can approach the political and economic level of Europe only by changing over to a market economy and to a democratic political system, and within these, by resolving the

13

problem of ethnic minorities in a just and democratic manner. Mr. President, I ask you to use, in this historical moment, your personal

authority to prevent this ever increasing forced modification of the ethnic composition of Vojvodina. The democratic introduction of a minority self-government would in turn foster the solution to all other problems, which have plunged us into a bloody and senseless civil war.

September 28th, 1991. Andras Agoston

{Translated from Hungarian by S.O.S. Transylvania - Geneva Committee}

Letter from the VMDK Leaders to the Serbian

Parliament

To the House of Representatives of the

Serbian Republic, Belgrade

During the past week, peaceful and spontaneous political demonstrations have occurred in several Vojvodina communities inhabited predominantly by ethnic Hungarians. The assembled citizens, most of them ethnic Hungarians, have called for an end to the civil war, the cessation of the illegal, unconstitutional and forced mobilizat- ion of citizens and the return of their relatives from the front.

The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Vojvodina *7 expresses its support for these political demonstrations as a consummate expression of

the efforts, both by the international community and the Hungarian minority, that the civil war be ended as soon as possible, and that no one be forced to participate in it against his or her will. The legal, political and moral basis for this position is expressed in the CSCE Charter of Paris for a New Europe (1990), which states that there remains no conflict in Europe which warrants recourse to war. Furthermore,- we cite the recent initiative by European intellectuals which calls on the United Nations to recognize every person's inalienable human right to refuse to participate in a civil war (a right which is of course to be distinguished from the patriotic duty to defend internationally recognized borders).

The VMDK believes that the current situation calls for the House of Representatives of the Serbian Republic and the other governing bodies to take the necessary steps, as in the case of the Albanian and Muslim minorities, to exempt from the draft the Hungarians of Vojvodina, a minority community. This group has expressed. its opposition to the civil war through, spontaneous demonstrations. Furthermore, those ethnic Hungarians being held at the front against their will should be promptly recalled. Since more than 20,000 ethnic Hungarians from Vojvodina, fearing for their lives, have fled the country to

14

escape forced mobilization and the merciless anti-Hungarian war propaganda, the House of Representatives should issue an official call for the return of all refugees, and should guarantee that those who return, including those who refused the draft, suffer no retribution. By doing so, the Serbian House of Representatives would gain a reprieve for the responsibility it bears for forcibly altering the ethnic composition of Hungarian- inhabited areas of the Vojvodina - a clear and punishable violation of obligations under UN documents. We also note the participation of numerous Serbs and citizens of other nationalities in the above-mentioned political demonstrations. For this reason, we recommend that the Serbian House of Representatives prepare a referendum on the question of whether citizens support the war as a necessary means for resolving the historical contradictions and dilemmas which, indisputably, affect the Serbian nation's position in Yugoslavia. The VMDK leadership calls upon the House of Representatives to initiate a debate on these recommendations and to adopt the necessary measures.

Ada, November 9th, 1991.

The VMDK leadership

(Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Vojvodina)

{Published in "VMDK Hfrmondó Nr.21, October 11th, 1991.

Translated by the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation, New York.}

Hungarian language education in the

Vojvodina/Bacska and Banat*8

The Hungarian language educational system in the Vojvodina/Bacska and Banat has been consciously undermined over the past few years. This was, and still is, being implemented on a step-by-step basis, its ultimate goal, the assimilation of the Hungarian community through the weakening or eradication of its national identity.

Firstly, education in the Hungarian language - especially at the secondary level, has not been made available to every child or youth. Hungarian language classes have been authorized only if the pupils reach a certain number. In other words, Hungarians living in a diaspora situation could not benefit from education in their mother tongue.

In addition to the already limited access to education in Hungarian, certain classes have been cancelled under a system of "quotas". Moreover, students starting their education in Hungarian have no guarantee of being able to complete it in that language. The Serbian authorities have availed themselves of every opportunity to remind parents that education in Hungarian has no future, and that it would be in the

15

best interest of the child to be educated in Serbian. The systematic use of

psychological pressure continues to be one of the tools of forced assimilation. The State authorities have deprived Hungarian schools of qualified leadership

by appointing principals who are either non- Hungarian, already alienated Hungarians or individuals who otherwise do not enjoy the trust of the Hungarian community.

The gradual reduction of material support originally provided to Hungarian schools has led to the impoverishment of laboratories, libraries and other facilities, and forced the teachers to seek alternative employment. A resulting decline in the quality of education has been inevitable.

A bill limiting access to public information, which was introduced on August 2nd, 1991, is most detrimental to the culture of minorities. Centres which have served the cultural needs of the Hungarian community, such as kindergartens, schools and cultural institutions, are now being diverted from their original function under the guise of privatization. This represents a setback, even as compared to conditions which existed 20 to 25 years ago. In response to these developments, the Democratic Association of Hungarians in the Vojvodina*9 published in May of 1991, an outline concerning the establishment of a comprehensive and fundamentally new educational system. This system would embrace all age groups from kindergarten to university, and all localities with a Hungarian population. The plan would be to bring all educational institutions under the authority of a self-governing council which would be elected by Hungarians. The jurisdiction of the council would also include the foundation of educational or cultural institutions, the assessment of existing ones, the elaboration and approval of a budget for financing the institutions with some provision being made to monitor their progress. The VMDK has based its proposal on Swiss, Italian and Finnish models, thereby providing it with a European and legal foundation.

The main objectives of the plan are to ensure: (1) The sufficiency and adequacy of training personnel through the further

training of teachers on the one hand and the invitation of guest-teachers on the other.

(2) the appropriateness of the curricula through the inclusion of the Hungarian culture both in Hungary and in those parts of the surrounding countries which were detached from Hungary in 1920;

(3) the sufficiency and adequacy of educational tools promoting the Hungarian culture through a substantial increase of tile number of available educational tools, such as libraries, wall maps, video,

16

cassette recorders, tapes, slides, etc; (4) the enlightened use of existing school buildings, including their

transformation into school centres for bilingual institutions; (5) the establishment of higher education in Hungarian, thereby responding to

the particularly acute need to foster Hungarian scholarship.

Law of the Republic of Serbia concerning the official use of

language

The parliament of the Republic of Serbia promulgated a law concerning the official use of language, which came into force on June 23rd, 1991*10 .This law is a clear setback compared to former bills which were drafted in the spirit of communist internationalism. The practice of moderate, covert discrimination has been replaced by an aggressive stance of outright nationalist intolerance.

The law declares Serbian the official language of the Republic of Serbia. This basic assumption excludes specific mention of anyone's right to openly and legally use his/her native language if it differs from Serbian.

Paragraphs 2 and 3 state that the official language (Serbian) must be used in all official documents and correspondence, while the language and script (the Latin alphabet), of minorities can only be used where the legislation so provides.

Paragraphs 23-26 of the law threaten with severe punishment those who "illega1ly" use a minority language, while there is no penalty for those officials or institutions which arbitrarily limit minority language use. This omission precludes all legal remedies in cases where a person belonging to an ethnic minority cannot assert his/her rights as a result of arbitrary action taken against them.

Latin script can freely be used in two cases only: (1) on road signs marking international highways, where it may appear under

or to the right of the signs in Cyrillic; and (2) on commercial billboards. All other cases are subject to the approval of

some state-controlled institution.

The law gives the impression that minorities can use their mother tongue as official languages at the local level in villages, cities or autonomous regions. However, the law does not stipulate that minorities have the right to demand the recognition of their mother tongue as an official language in the territories where they live. Instead it restricts the recognition of a minority language as an official language making such official recognition subject to the existence of a provision to that effect in the statute of a locality or autonomous region. This means that in localities or regions in which the minority population is below 51 % they cannot obtain the recognition of this right. This also means that one ethnic group, namely

17

the Serbs, enjoys a right not granted to others. While the law enables the Serbs to deprive minorities of using their mother tongue as an official language in localities where they (the Serbs) form the majority, ethnic minorities do not have this right, and are severely punished for apparent transgressions, even if in a given locality or region the Serbian population forms only a very small minority.

Legally, the mandatory use of Serbian creates a disadvantage for those who cannot or do not wish to speak Serbian. They have no right to prepare their statements or declarations in their mother tongue. For persons in provisional detention the law provides for the possibility of requesting an official translation of the legal documents. These persons must, however, expect a substantially longer provisional detention period than those whose mother tongue is Serbian.

18

Amnesty International Alert

EXTRA 82/91 November 20th, 1991

YUGOSLAVIA:

Arrest of Peace Activists: Nenad CANAK and Janos SZABO

Nenad Canak, from Novi Sad in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, is the

President of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina/Yugoslavia. He has publicly condemned the war in Croatia. On the night of November 7th he was arrested and taken by civilian police to a police station in Novi Sad where he was handed over to military police who informed him that he was being called up for military service. Draft papers were allegedly served on Nenad Canak after he had been detained. Reports vary as to whether he is currently being held at a garrison in Ilok in Croatia or in Novi Sad.

A day earlier, on November 6th, 1991, Janos Szabo (a member of the ethnic Hungarian minority from the town of Ada), President of the "Crisis Centre" for the parents of reservists in the town, was also reported to have been arrested by military police. It is not known whether any charges are being laid against him. At the time of his arrest he was reported to be undergoing medical treatment after a heart attack.

Both men were associated with proposals for the organization of referenda in the municipalities of Senta and Ada. The referenda were to find out whether the population supported the war which is being fought in Croatia and whether they supported the draft for their fellow countrymen to fight in the conflict. These referenda have not taken place.

Five other peace activists from Senta, Janos Bozoki, Vera Hebel Tatic, Marija Bakos, Nandor Farkas and Nandor Meszaros have been charged (but are not under arrest) in connection with a protest meeting against the military draft of local people. The meeting took place in Ada on November 6th. The defendants maintain that the gathering was spontaneous whereas the authorities claim that the defendants organized it without a permit. Reports suggest that others may be charged and that reservists involved in the anti-war activities may face a court martial.

Amnesty International is concerned that Nenad Canak and Janos Szabo may have been arrested because of their public criticism of the war in Croatia and the drafting of reservists to tight it.

19

Background information

Military service in Yugoslavia is compulsory for all men over 18 years of age. After having completed their period of service, former soldiers may be drafted as reservists at any time (including for peace-time exercises).

Since the outbreak of armed conflict in Croatia, large numbers of reservists from the republics of Serbia and Montenegro, including members of the Hungarian and Albanian ethnic minorities, have been drafted into the Yugoslav National Army (JNA). Many of those sent to the battle front have deserted, including Serbs from Serbia, or have dodged the draft.

Declaration of the Human Rights Committee of

Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Vojvodina*11

1. We condemn the authorities' use of force in attempting to prevent citizens from expressing their view on the senseless civil war raging in our midst. (For example, the armed police blockade in the communities of Senta/Zenta and Temerin, and the use of special forces to intimidate peacefully assembled citizens in Zenta and Ada).

2. We condemn the brutal punitive sanctions used against organizers of the popular demonstration (the brutal and forced removal to unknown locations of Janos Szabo, who suffers from a bleeding ulcer, and of Jozsef Bodo and Jozsef Papp).

3. We reject the civil and military authorities' forced drafting of Canak Nenad, President of the Yugoslavian/Vojvodina Social Democratic League, to a civil war he finds unacceptable, as punishment for his political views.

4. We maintain that these incidents represent gross violations of human and civil rights by the public authorities. For this reason, we are issuing this statement to the attention of human rights organizations as well.

Budapest, November 12th, 1991

Human Rights Committee of the VMDK

(Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Vojvodina.)

20

Geo-political history of Vojvodina/Bacska and Banat

The Vojvodina was for over a thousand years a natural part of Hungary.

The area now known as Vojvodina is not a separate geographical unit but part of the Great' Hungarian Plain. For over one thousand years (896-1920) it formed a natural part of Hungary, even though for some periods the whole country was under foreign occupation (see Maps 4-11).

The area was devastated by the Mongols in 1241-1242 and resettled by King Bela IV.

During the two and a half centuries that followed the first settlements, the region experienced fast socio-economic development. The first setbacks came, when the invading Mongols devastated the Great Hungarian Plain in 1241-1242. The reigning Hungarian King, Bela IV, (1235-1270) succeeded in rebuilding the country and repopulating the land, partly by allowing the Cuman (Kun) people, themselves fleeing from the Mongols, to settle in some parts of the plain.

Between 1526 and 1686 the central part of Hungary was occupied and

devastated by the Turks.

After the battle of Mohacs (1526), in which a heavily outnumbered Hungarian army was defeated by the Turks, Central Hungary came under Turkish rule until 1686. During that period, the North-West of the country, referred to as 'Royal Hungary', was ruled by the Habsburgs and only the Eastern part, called Transylvania, remained in Hungarian hands (see Map 6). This age of “trisection” was one of the blackest in the history of Central Hungary. The advances of the Turkish army in each campaign were marked by swaths of smoking hamlets and ruined towns; its withdrawals were followed by long trains' of captives destined for the slave markets of Anatolia. Serbians, under Turkish rule since 1398, often participated in the marauding raids against the Hungarian population. The fighting and slave raiding, which went on even in times of nominal peace, reduced the whole south of the country to a wasteland; villages disappeared and fields reverted to swamp and forests*12

21

The Habsburgs occupied and made the whole of Hungary part of the

Austrian Empire.

Between 1686 and 1691 Hungary was liberated from the Turks by an international army under the leadership of Eugen de Savoy, then in the service of the Habsburgs. Unfortunately, this army behaved like an occupational army and did as much damage to the country as the Turks. Considering Hungary as a country acquired by arms, the Emperor of Austria declared it part of the Austrian Empire (see Map 7). This situation prevailed until 1867.

The Habsburgs kept Vojvodina under a separate rule and settled non-Hungarians, among them Serbs in the area. The Serbs received special

privileges.

The Austrians kept the junction between the Maros and the Tisza rivers under a separate administration until 1779. The military frontier, which was progressively extended by them, was under a similar regime. It was during this Austrian rule that besides Hungarians, Serbs, Germans, French, Spaniards and other nationalities were settled in the area.

In 1690-91, 37-40,000 Serb families were granted asylum, as they had fled the Turks. As well as the right to settle in a Turk-free territory, they also received privileges denied Hungarians. The reasons for this were multiple. Aware of Hungarian dismay about Austrian rule, the Habsburgs enlisted the support of other populations with a view of strengthening their own position. Moreover, the Habsburgs used all available means at their disposal to weaken widespread Hungarian Protestantism, even if it meant granting full religious freedom to the Orthodox Serbs. Austria also tolerated the Serbs' refusal to pay taxes. This, however, resulted in the tax-burden falling entirely on the Hungarian peasantry, which consequently started to leave the area in large numbers.

22

Since the Serbs engaged mainly in military services, many left the area after

the peace treaty with the Turks in 1718.

Another major cause for the resettlement of the Serbs was the Habsburg desire to strengthen military frontiers against the Turks. They received hereditary land and housing in exchange for military service. Not being used to leading a sedentary life, the Serbs continued their semi-nomadic existence for some time. After the Peace Treaty of Pessarowitz (1718), which ended the war with the Turks, many Serb families left the area, because they preferred military activity, which enabled them to remain on the move, to a sedentary, agricultural life.

The Serbs repeatedly turned against the Hungarians. The Hungarian liberation war (1848-49) was also won by the Austrians with the help of the

Serbs.

Co-habitation between the Hungarians and the Serbs of the region was never a happy one. Trying to tilt the demographic balance in their favour, the Serb population joined the opposite side in every military conflict. This was also the case in 1848-49, when Hungary tried to detach itself entirely from the Austrian empire in a war of independence. When Austria together with the Czarist army, the Serbs and the Croats defeated the Hungarian army, the Serbs massacred a large part of the Hungarian population of the area, burning cities and villages and committing various atrocities.

In 1910, only 25.2% of Vojvodina's population consisted of Serbs.

According to the census of 1910. the population of Vojvodina consisted of the following ethnic groups:

Hungarian 458,252 30.2%

Serb 382,149 25.2%

German 303,583 20.0%

Croat 91,571 6.1 %

Romanian 76,780 5.1%

Vend 66,880 44%

Bunievac 48,862 3.2%

23

Slovak 46,378 3.1 % Sokac 15,847 1.1% Ruthen 10,777 0.7% other 13,920 0.9% Total 1,514,999 100.0%

In 1920, the victorious powers detached Vojvodina from Hungary to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes against the will of the majority of the population. The request for a referendum was refused.

It was the Treaty of Trianon (1920), which cut off this territory from Hungary to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The request of most of the non-Hungarian population for self-determination through a referendum went unanswered. The spontaneous demonstrations of the Vends, Germans, Bunievac and other groups, indicating their desire to remain in Hungary, was also to no avail. Areas with compact Hungarian populations were attached to Serbia. C.A. Macartney noted rightly*13 that in the case of a referendum, the overwhelming majority of the population would have voted in favour of remaining in Hungary. Since the refusal of the right to self- determination served only the interest of "Great Serbia", it created an intolerable situation and a constant source of conflict. Between the two World Wars many Hungarians were deprived of their properties and 50,000 Serb families were moved into the area from the South.

After World War I, the Hungarian population was to a large extent deprived of its properties under the guise of land reform. Much Hungarian land was given to those Serbs who were transferred from the South of Serbia to this region. Of the 650,000 hectares of land only 240,000 was granted the former inhabitants of the Vojvodina, while 414,789 were distributed to about 50,000 families transferred from Montenegro and the South of Serbia. Extremely high taxation further contributed to the economic decline of the region. While other regions of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes paid a tax of 20-30 dinars per acre of land, those in the Vojvodina were to pay 350 (52 % of the taxes collected on the territory of Yugoslavia came from the Vojvodina).

24

In 1941, the Axis powers revised the borders of Hungary along ethnic lines.

Thus Bacska, Baranya and the Mura region were returned to Hungary. This was followed by Serbian terrorist action and subsequent Hungarian

retaliation. In 1945, Vojvodina was once more detached from Hungary. The Serbs then massacred about 30,000 Hungarians and 70,000 Germans.

In 1941, the Axis powers revised the borders of Hungary along ethnic lines. Those areas which were still overwhelmingly populated by Hungarians, that is, Bacska, Baranya and Mura, were returned to Hungary. On January 4th, 1942, Hungarian soldiers retaliated against continuous attacks by the Serbian partisans by arresting and executing about 4,500 Serbs in Novi Sad (Ujvidek). The reaction of the Serbs was terrible. In 1945, more than 30,000 Hungarians and nearly 70,000 Germans were massacred by the Serbs and more than 40,000 Hungarians and over 200,000 Germans had to flee to save their lives. While, regardless of the numbers involved, both atrocities have to be condemned with equal force, one basic difference remains. In 1942 and in 1945, the Hungarian Officers involved in the arbitrary executions were brought to justice and received severe sentences from the Hungarian Government. No such condemnation has ever been pronounced by the Serbian Government or people, who still consider the acts committed by the Serbs as patriotic accomplishments. In addition to these acts of violence, large numbers of Hungarians were taken to work camps, mostly mines, where they perished by the thousands. Only the loss of the German population in Vojvodina was more considerable.

(Editors note. The estimates actually run much higher; over 40,000

Hungarians, 100,000 Germans perished. While in the Novi Sad massacre about

3500 Serbs and others died.

Interesting to note, that the Serbs erected a monument with the names of Serb

victims engraved, near one of the Danube bridges in Novi Sad. They do not

miss an opportunity to show the Western visitors, what war crimes the

Hungarians committed against the “peace-loving Serb people”. They neglect to

mention the illegal partisan activities that was the root cause of the stupid

retaliation, just like in Mi Lay in Viet-Nam.

Sadly and unjustly even now fifty years later, they steadfastly deny permission to

the relatives of the Hungarian victims to open the mass-greaves and give a

decent burial to their loved ones.)

25

Numbers and ratio of the Hungarian population in some localities in the Vojvodina/Bacska and Banat*14

Backa Topola Becej Kanijza Bacstopolya Obecse Magyarkanizsa

1910 12339 (98,9%) 12488 (64,5%) 16655 (97,9%) 1931 13016 (86,4%) 11996 (58,5%) 16772 (87,8%) 1941 13420 (95,0%) 14579 (68,7%) 18691 (97,0%) 1953 12580 (87,8%) 14883 (63,8%) 9595 (88,5%) 1971 13132 (81,8%) 15728 (58,8%) 10241 (91,1 %) 1981 12634 (74,2%) 14763 (54,5%) 10410 (85,5%) ' *1981 13369 (77,4%) 16057 (59,0%) 10723 (91,7%) " **1991 11261 (87,5%) 13597 (51,1%) S10257 (88,8%)

Kula Novil Becejl Novi Knezevacl Kula Torokbecse Torokkanizsa

1910 3679 (40,3%) 7586 (45,1 %) 4821 (61,0%) 1931 3423 (33,2%) 6776 (41,5%) 3623 (52,2%) 1941 5621 (48,8%) 1953 4500 (38,3%) 6644 (40,7%) 3891 (49,9%) 1971 4454 (25,8%) 6052 (37,6%) 4118 (50,6%) 1981 3964 (21,0%) 5955 (37,0%) 3572 (43,7%) *1981 4203 (22,4%) 6230 (39,9%) 3749 (46,0%) **1991 3378 (17,5%) 4640 (30,1 %) 3153 (39.1%)

Novi Sadl Senta Sombor Ujvidek Zenta Zombor

1910 13343 (39,7%) 27221 (91,7%) 10078 (32,9%) 1931 20362 (31,8%) 26461 (82,8%) 5526 (17,1 %) 1941 30998 (50,4%) 29363 (91,7%) 11413 (36,0%) 1953 21810 (28,4%) 19238 (82,5%) 7497 (22,370) 1971 22698 (16.0%) 20598 (83,3"/0) 7201 (16,3%) 1981 19163 (11,3%) 18738 (79) "/0) 5815 (12,0%) *1981 22484 (13,12%) 19925 (84,3%) 7035 (14,5%) **1991 15736 (8,8%) 18063 (79.1 %) 4710 (9,6%)

Subotica Temerin Zrenjanin Szabadka Temerin Nagybecskcrck

1910 55587 (58,7%) 9499 (97,2%) 12395 (42.1) %) 1931 29738 (29,7%) 8439 (74.7%) 12272 (36,0%)

1941 60733 (60,1 %) 10068 (91,2%)

1953 33442 (50,6%) 938'.! (80,8%) 16683 (37,7%) – 1971 43277 - (48,7%) 9982 (73,5%) 18455 (25,8%)

1981 44016 (43,8%) 9803 (66,2%) 16804 (20,8%) *1981 50893 (50,8%) 10203 (68,9%) 18827 (23,3%) **1991 39860 (39,8%) 9513 (56,2%) 14598 (17,9%)

* As estimated by Karoly Kocsis. All other figures refer to national statistics based on the mother tongue

** National statistics

26

According to official national statistics, in 1981, there 'were 427,000 Hungarians in Vojvodina. However, when answering the census questionnaire, many peoples declared themselves Yugoslavs without indicating their ethnic origin. A proportional segment of these unidentified inhabitants would add some 38,000 to the number of Hungarians, and thus raise their numbers to 465,000.

Since the mid 1980s, the autonomy of the Vojvodina has been reduced and the human rights situation of the Hungarian population has deteriorated.

From the 1950s until the beginning of the 1980s, the individual and collective rights of the Hungarian population were respected to a larger extent than in other so-called successor states. situation started changing in the mid-eighties, when Serbia reinforced its tendencies to centralize and reduce one autonomy of Vojvodina. The recent legislation concerning the use of language* 15and that of local government are examples of diminishing minority rights. Moreover, there is a move to expropriate Hungarian cultural property, including printing facilities", schools and cultural institutions.

The present civil war has resulted in further discrimination, brutality and hostilities against the Hungarian population.

The civil war between the Serbian and the Croatian Republics has resulted in further discrimination against the Hungarian population. They have been drafted into the Serbian army in proportionally larger numbers than the Serbian population, their repeatedly expressed desire not to participate in the hostilities of the present civil war has not been respected, the properties of those who fled the conflict, have been confiscated and repeated threats of brutality or the use of arms have forced Hungarians to either live in constant fear, or to leave the country. 27

28

30

PART III: Historical Notes

Though the careful observer expected it for quite some time, the turmoil in Yugoslavia has taken the world by surprise. Western Europe in particular, has not understood why any nation would want to affirm its own identity at a time when the (EU) Twelve were ready to transfer power from their, national authority to the European Community. This attitude indicates a lack of knowledge of the realities in Central and Eastern Europe, the context that formed the various nations of the region and the historical, cultural and political factors which determined the relationship between them. The following historical notes intend to fill in at least some of these gaps. They may also help by revealing that the self-determination of oppressed nations and ethnic groups may contribute as much, or more, to European stability and peace, as the ongoing unification of the Twelve.

Geo-political History of Croatia

The Croats migrated to present day Croatia in the 6th century and constituted the Kingdom of Croatia In 925.

The Croats migrated in the 6th century A.D. from a region now known as the Ukraine to the lower Danube Valley: From there they continued to the Adriatic and also settled in Dalmatia and Pannonia. In the 7th century they were converted to Christianity. The Croats, a farming . people, continued to live in smaller units under their zupani tribal chieftain. Under pressure from the neighbouring Frankish and Byzantine empires, however, the Croats gradually formed larger organizational units. By the 8th century there were two Croatian duchies, which, in turn, united in the 9th century*16. Trpimir (845-864) was the first ruler who is reported as having the title of “dux Croatorum”*17. This development culminated in Duke Tomislav receiving in 925 the royal crown from Pope John X. From then onward Croatia existed as an independent kingdom until 1102. The pacta conventa of 1102 placed Croatia under the Hungarian crown

for the following eight centuries, but conserved its identity as a State,

its autonomy, its ban (Governor) and Diet.

Following the assassination of King Dimitrije, his widow, the of the Hungarian King Laszlo I (1077-1095), called for Hungarian help. After some conflict with various pretenders to the throne, the next Hungarian King Kalman (1095-1116) negotiated with the representatives of the Croatian tribes the pacta conventa (1102). According to this pact, both the Kingdom of Croatia and the Kingdom of Hungary were to be ruled by the King of Hungary, with the Croatians

31

conserving their autonomy, their ban (Governor) and their Diet*18, Thus the destiny of Croatia was tied to that of Hungary for the next eight centuries (see Map 4 and 5),

In 1493 the Turks occupied most of Croatia. The remaining part came, in 1526, under Austrian rule, since it was associated with Royal Hungary.

Most of the Croat forces perished in the battle at Krbovsko Polje (1493). The battle of Mohacs (1526) in which King Louis died, also constituted a fatal blow for the Hungarian army. After the above crushing defeats, the greater part of Croatia like Central Hungary fell under Turkish occupation, dividing Croatia in two: Slavonia and Eastern Croatia were absorbed into the Ottoman Empire and Western Croatia shared the fate of Royal Hungary*19, which since 1527 was under Habsburg rule. This situation continued until the end of the 17th century, when Hungary (1686) and Croatia (1699) were liberated from the Turks by an international army*20 (See Map 6). After the defeat of the Turks all of Croatia came under Austrian rule.

The Turkish invasion left both Croatia and Central Hungary in shambles. The whole area was devastated and depopulated. The Habsburgs, who now ruled both Croatia and Hungary as part of the Austrian Empire, created military zones to strengthen the border defenses and settled groups of Serbs there who were fleeing their homeland still occupied by the Turks (see Maps 7,8, and 9). In 1867, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy replaced the Austrian Empire. In 1868 a Hungaro-Croat compromise, the “nagodba”, was signed, recognizing the historical territories of Croatia and providing for autonomy in internal affairs.

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 resulted in the creation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which took the place of the Austrian Empire (see Map 10). In November of 1868, a Hungaro-Croat Compromise (the nagodba) was signed. The nagodba recognized the Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia as a distinct political entity with its own territory, though still part of the Hungarian as opposed to Austrian unit. In spite of this, Dalmatia was not reunited with Croatia, Slavonia and remained an Austrian province*21. The nagodba enabled Croatia to retain its Diet, recognized Croatian as the official language and provided for autonomy in internal affairs, education, religious affairs and justice. Deputies designated by the Croatian Diet sat in the Hungarian Parliament when treating joint affairs such as foreign policy, defence and finances. The nagodba remained valid until 1918.

32

In 1918, Croatia declared its independence and its incorporation into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Treaty of Trianon (1910) added

territory to Croatia from Hungary, while by the Treaty of Rapallo (1920) Croatia lost territory to Italy.

Croatian opposition to the nagodba was organized by Josip Strossmayer, Bishop of Djakovo and Ante Starcevic, whose respective parties further developed Croatian nationalism with a view to obtaining Croatia's secession from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Encouraged by the Allied Powers*22 the Yugoslav movement also gained momentum in Croatia during World War I.

On October 29th, 1918, the Croatian Diet proclaimed the independence of Croatia and created a Southern Slav State within the Monarchy. In December of 1918, this State was declared united to Serbia. The South Slav State agreed to this union on, the condition that the future form of the State would be a confederation. The Treaty of Trianon (1920), granted Croatia more territory by taking land away from Hungary i.e. the Mura district, the South of which was populated by Croatians, and a part of the Baranya district. On the other hand, the Treaty of Rapallo (1920) contributed the whole of Istria, a few surrounding islands and the city of Zara/Zadar to Italy. The city of Fiume/Rijeka was also occupied and annexed by Italy (see Map 11).

Serb centralism made coexistence difficult. A settlement in 1939 enabled

Croatia to become an autonomous banovina.

Coexistence with the Serbs was made difficult by Serbian centralism which poisoned political life from the beginning. The imprisonment (1925) and assassination (1928) of the leader of the Croatian opposition Stejpan Radic and his collaborators in the Parliament in Belgrade prompted, the strengthening of Croatian opposition under the leadership of the Peasant Party.

In 1939, the Serbs had to agree to a settlement, the sporazum, whereby Croatia was reunited with Dalmatia and parts of Bosnia-Hercegovina and became an autonomous banovina within Yugoslavia.,

Croatia declared its independence in 1941. Ante Pavelic, the head of the

organization called Ustasa, became its President.

During World War II; the Axis Powers prompted the creation of an independent State of Croatia. Proclaimed in Zagreb on April 10th, 1941, it was recognized four days later by Hitler and Mussolini. This State of Croatia had a territory of about 39,600 square miles and a population of 6,663,000. Since Vladimir/Vladko Macek, the leader of the Peasant Party refused to take the leadership, it was entrusted to Ante Pavelic, head of the organization called Ustasa*23. Under his extreme nationalist regime an anti-Serbian policy was adopted that led to massacres and expulsions of Serbs, Jews, Hungarians and Romas.

33

In 1945, Croatia became a people's republic within Yugoslavia.

In 1945, Croatia became a people's republic within communist Yugoslavia. This included the historical territory of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia excepting the mouth of the river Kotor, Istria and the Hungarian territories received in 1920.

In the 1980s Slovenia and Croatia proposed changing Yugoslavia into a confederation as a remedy to serious troubles.

During the 1980s, Yugoslavia experienced a profound socio-economic crisis. Proposals were then made to discuss the possibilities for transforming Yugoslavia. Due to the failure of the Serbs to introduce political and economic reforms, other Republics, especially Slovenia and Croatia developed their own models for the future. While the Slovenians and the Croatians proposed a reorganization of the State as a confederation, Serbia refused all dialogue and started imposing its own totally centralized concept of the State.

In 1990, Croatia embraced multipartism and on June 25th, 1991 declared its independence.

The political changes in Central and Eastern Europe led to the reinstitution of multipartism in Croatia in 1990. In the elections, two thirds of the vote was swept up by the Croatian Democratic Alliance, whose head General Franjo Tudjman, became President of the Republic. After a referendum, in which more than 72 per cent of the population voted in favour of secession from Yugoslavia. Croatia declared its independence on June 25th, 1991.

34

Geo-political History of Serbia

The Serbs appear in history in the 6th century A.D., when they arrived in the Balkan Peninsula together with other Slavic-speaking tribes, all of whom were pushed southward by the Avars. The first Serbian settlements were in the area enclosed by the rivers Saya, Morava, Neretva and Bosna. The Serbian political organization at the time was essentially a loose confederation of clans, more or less dependent on the dominant military powers of the region: the Byzantines, the Avars and the Bulgarians. Subsequently, the Avars were replaced by the Hungarians. With the death of Emperor Manuel in 1180, the Byzantine Empire became weaker and the Serbs acquired their independence. Soon after, the Byzantine Empire collapsed under the onslaught of the Fourth Crusade (1204) and Serbia was able to extend its territory from the Adriatic to Thessaly. Prince Stephen Nemanjic received the title of King of Serbia from the papal legate himself. He had at last promised to lead his people back to Roman Catholicism (1217). In the end however he preferred to be crowned again (1220), this time in an orthodox ceremony, and formed an autocephalous Orthodox Church with its patriarchate at Pec. Subsequently, the north of the country was occupied militarily by the Hungarians, who established there a series of margravates ("banats") to the south of the Sava and the Danube, that were ruled by important local families who became their vassals. The rest of Serbia oscillated between anarchy and periodic attempts at unification under the Nemanjic dynasty. Under "Czar" Stephen Uros (1330-1355) the Serbian state reached its greatest territorial expansion and was even granted a legal code by its czar. But a new menace arose on the horizon: the Ottoman Turks took Gallipoli in 1345 and Adrianopolis (today Edirne) in 1361. Soon afterwards the Turks became a threat to all Balkan nations. At the Battle of Maritza (1371) they demolished the coalition forces of the Serbs and the Bulgarians, with several Serbian princes dying on the field of battle. The Turks thereupon annexed southern Serbia. A Hungarian counterattack in 1377 ensured a few years of respite, only to be disrupted by a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, from which the Turks emerged victorious: despite the death of their Sultan Murad. The Serbian Prince Lazar also died in the battle, which made his country a vassal of the Turks. Lazar's son Stephen fought as a Turkish vassal against the combined forces of Emperor Sigismund and the Crusaders at the Battle of Nicopolis (1396). The Brankovich, vassals of Hungary, kept their territory free of the Turks, as did the still independent Castriotes in the west. Nevertheless, the Turkish offensive was devastating: the fortifications of Golubac (1429) and Smenderovo (1459), both on the Danube, fell to them, as did Nis in 1451, further to the south. The Serbian nobility. who had by now become Turkish vassals, were forced to progressively convert to Islam in order to keep their lands. The suppression of the 35

Patriarchate of Pec (in Turkish: Ipek) in 1459 threatened the survival of religious and national traditions. One by one the descendants of Christian vassals were replaced by the Spahi, i.e. Turkish soldiers with titles to military fiefs. By around 1520 Turkish domination was complete: the last Serbian vassals had been replaced by the Spahi. Even in the smallest villages, area officials were not elected by locals but were appointed by the Turks. The Khadis, representatives of the Sultan, controlled all activities: no important business could be carried out without their consent. Monasteries, despite being heavily spied upon, taxed and pillaged, remained the last refuge of Serbian culture. The Pec Patriarchate was reestablished in 1557, as it was judged by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to no longer pose any danger. This did, however, permit, the survival of the most important religious and cultural centre in Serbia. In actual fact the front had already moved north. The fall of Buda Castle in 1541 allowed a Turkish advance right through the middle of Hungary and up to within a few dozen miles of Vienna. The coming of the Turks led to a depopulation of Hungary as many people were not able to live with the brutality of their new masters, with the accompanying massacres and deportations. People from the Balkans, such as the Serbs, more accustomed to Turkish rule, were able to replace in part the Hungarian population who had fled its homeland. Quite a few moved as far as Buda, or even further north. Many of these immigrants to Hungary sided definitely with the Christians and even took up arms against the Muslim invaders, while other Serbs sided with the Turks. Nevertheless, fighting on both sides did not eliminate feelings of solidarity among Serbs. The Hungarian War of Liberation (1683- 1699) resulted in large movements of the population. In 1689, when Christian forces had advanced a bit too fast into the Balkans and thus had to retreat towards the north, they were followed by 40,000 Orthodox families led by the Patriarch of Pec, Arsen Chernojevich, all fleeing the expected vengeance of the Turks. These fugitives, who claimed to stay temporarily in Hungary, were forced to remain there indefinitely, for the fortunes of war did not allow them to return to the Pec region. Emperor Leopold I (who was also King of Hungary) granted these Serbs autonomous status. The Austrians conferred on them extraterritorial privileges with respect to the Hungarian authorities, in order to instigate an alliance between the Habsburgs and the Serbs against the Hungarians, the latter prone to rebellion against Habsburg domination (Leopoldine Diplomas of 1690 and 1691). It was hoped by the Viennese court, that the Serbs would serve as a counterweight to Hungarian ambitions. Along the Hungarian-Turkish border, a strip of territory about 40 km (25 miles) wide was reserved for use by the imperial army: this became the "Military Frontier". Serbs were settled in this region under their chiefs and organized in clans (zadrugas) , who could be mobilized under the imperial high command. It was understood that the Hungarian authorities would have no control over them. Persistent attempts by Hungarian authorities to regain control of the military frontier were met with evasiveness or outright rejection. The struggles between imperial and Hungarian authorities reinforced anti-Hungarian feelings among the Serbs. These feelings and Serbian devotion to 36

the imperial cause were translated into action during the Hungarian War of Independence led by Prince Rakoczi (1703-1711), during the many peasant insurrections during the 18th century and, in particular, during the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-1849. During the period of 1717 -1739, at a time when northern Serbia was temporarily free from Turkish domination, the Karlowitz area served as a propaganda centre for the struggle to liberate territories still under Turkish rule. But the Turks won the next war (1737-1739) and were able to re-occupy the parts of Serbia previously freed. In 1741, in order to hold on to its influence over the Serbs, the Viennese court convinced the Patriarch to transfer his See to Karlowitz. Eight orthodox bishops were consecrated under his authority. By now the position of Voivod of the Serbs was vacant and the Patriarch became indirectly the temporal head of the Serbs. The Assembly of All Serbs met under his authority. A group of rich merchants with contacts in the Ottoman Empire, grew up around the new Patriarchal See, providing it with economic power as well. This centre served to keep alive the consciousness of Serbian identity and autonomy within the Kingdom of Hungary. During this same period (17th - beginning of 19th century), inside the Ottoman Empire, Serbians were reduced to eke out a living as peasants or merchants, with only a small minority able to get rich by collaboration with the Turks, often to the detriment of their fellow Serbs. However, imprisonment and massacres were still frequent occurrences in the Ottoman Empire, so that no Serb, however rich, could feel safe. The Turkish War (1787-1795) undertaken by Emperor Joseph II and the Russian Empress Catherine II awakened the first hopes of freedom for the Serbs. In fact, because of pressure from Austria and Russia, Serbia obtained from the Sultan a form of autonomy, little respected however by the Turkish authorities. The rebellions led by Karageorgevich (1804) and Milos Obrenovich (1815) did lead, on the other hand, to a more autonomous state in northern Serbia, in which no Turkish troops were left and which was even granted a modest Constitution (1830). The brutal rule of Milos Obrenovich created such a scandal, however, that he was forced to abdicate in favour of his son Michael (1839), who was himself overthrown by Alexander Karageorgevich (1842). This last ruler instituted a school system and established a judiciary. During the 1848 Revolution in the countries of the Austrian Empire, the Serbs of Hungary chose to fight for the absolutist cause against the liberalism favoured by the Hungarians: volunteers corning from the autonomous Serbian state joined Serbs from Hungary in fighting against the Hungarians. This strengthened feelings of solidarity among them, but Alexander Karageorgevich got into a dispute with the Austrians, who supported his old rival Milos Obrenovich to regain his throne (1858). This prince abdicated in favour of his son Michael (1860), who was then assassinated by his political enemies (1867) and succeeded by his cousin Milan. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise (Ausgleich) in 1867 Hungary became stronger. The incorporation of the Military Frontier into Hungary became inevitable. This indeed happened in 1882 when these territories 37

were re-annexed by Hungary proper and Croatia respectively. The Serbs living there acquired normal citizenship rights but were not able to retain their privileges. These rights did include, however, the use of their language, freedom of association, the right to establish their own schools, etc. Hungary was against the incorporation of new Balkan peoples in the Austro-Hungarian hierarchy, as it was afraid of strengthening the Slavic element in it. The offer by Milan Obrenovich to abdicate in favour of Francis Joseph (Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary) was not accepted. It was becoming obvious that Austria was not interested either in liberating the parts of the Balkans still under Turkish rule. The Serbian hopes were turning to czarist Russia, which was trying to establish a direct opening to the Mediterranean by conquering Constantinople (Istanbul) and was also showing an increasing interest in its smaller Slavic brothers. A pan-Slavic, pro-Russian propaganda effort arose in direct competition with the " Austro-Slavism" favoured by the Czechs in Bohemia (then part of Austria) and by the Serbs of Hungary, which aimed at creating a Slavic entity within the Monarchy, in which Slavs would dominate. The "Il1yric ideology" which was favoured by the Croats, hoped for the creation of a South Slavic state within the monarchy, using Serbian and Slovenian territories under Croat domination. The quick Russian victories in the war between Russia and Turkey (1877) awakened new hopes of liberation in the Balkans. At the Berlin Congress of 1878, however, the other European powers decided to save the Ottoman Empire (the "sick man of Europe") for the time being by limiting Russian gains. Nonetheless, several Balkan principalities were recognized (Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Rumania) as independent states. Eventually they all became kingdoms, Serbia in 1882. With the passage of time, Austro-Slavism, i.e. the incorporation of Serbia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased to be an alternative. Serbian opinion started to favour a reversed kind of "Illyrism": the union of south Slavs under Serbian control, making Serbia into the "Piedmont of the Balkans" (Piedmont having played a similar role in the creation of a unified Italy). Pan-Slavism also had its supporters among the Serbs - this would have created a vast Slavic union around Russia. Both of these options turned Serbia against Austria. Meanwhile the Obradovich dynasty was discredited by the scandals occurring in the Court at Belgrade, by an Austrian influence deemed too pervasive and by the authoritarian behaviour of the kings. The last straw was the morganatic marriage of King Alexander who was subsequently assassinated (1903) by supporters of the Karageorgevich family, in particular, by the notorious secret organization "Black Hand" financed by the Russians. Finally, Austria failed in its bid to intimidate Serbia by the customs war called the "Swine War" (1906). The "Young Turk" Revolution of 1912 in Constantinople led to constant ferment in the Balkans culminating in the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, from which Serbia emerged with parts of its dream of a "Greater Serbia" realized, as. it spread southwards and annexed Macedonia as well. As a result of these expansions there were conflicts with Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The subsequent assassination by the Black Hand organization of the heir to the 38

Austro-Hungarian throne, Francis Ferdinand (himself a champion of Austro- Slavism) in Sarajevo in 1914 led to the outbreak of World War I. After an initial heroic resistance, Serbia was crushed in 1915 by its Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian adversaries. The campaign was punctuated by terrible Serbian and Bulgarian atrocities. The Austrian occupation that followed was brutal in its efforts to put down persistent armed resistance by the Serbs. In the end, it was not until 1918 that Serbia was liberated with the help of the Eastern Army. At this time compensation was ordered for having sided with the victorious Entente powers: Serbia united, with Croatia, Slovenia, Dalmatia and Montenegro. Serbia also annexed southern Bacska (today's Vojvodina) after the mockery of a People's Assembly at Novi Sad to which only local Serbs (26 % of the population) were invited in large numbers, with only token representation from other local nationalities. Border modifications were also made at Bulgaria's expense. Thus a new entity, the "Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" was created, which obtained international recognition by the 1920 Peace Treaties and was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. In this territory, whatever its name, the dominant position of the Serbs was assured, despite promises to the contrary made under pressure from other countries.

Protests against this state of affairs by nationalities other than the Serbs (Croats, Hungarians, Macedonians) were suppressed by the iron hand of the army and the police. A royal and military dictatorship was established. There was obvious conflict with the Croats: the Radic brothers, Croatian leaders, were assassinated right in the Parliament buildings in 1925. Ustashi, Croatian nationalists responded by assassinating King Alexander in Marseille in 1934. Nationalism between the various peoples of Yugoslavia led to the disintegration of the country. During the Nazi invasion in 1941, Croats, Slovenes, Hungarians and Macedonians showed no support for the country and the German attack turned into a military parade. Serbian resistance was split into two royalist factions led by General Mihajlovic and the communists led by Tito who fought each other as well as the German and Italian occupation forces. There was a terrible price to pay as guerrilla actions and reprisals by the fascists claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. By the end of the war, Yugoslavia had 1.7 million dead, which amounted to 10% of its population. The Allies, including the British and the Americans, gave ever increasing support to Tito, rather than his less forceful opponent Mihajlovic. In 1941 Tito, having eliminated the supporters of Mihajlovic, occupied all of Serbia which had been evacuated by the Germans. Meanwhile the Red Army was fighting in Hungary, without ever penetrating Croatia. By an agreement between Tito and the USSR, Tito's forces were the only ones to attack Croatia, encountering such fierce resistance by the Croatians that they made little progress until just before the end of the war. There followed an extremely bloody purge of fascists and other opponents of Tito, whether Serbs or Croats, helped greatly by the fact that the British and the Americans handed back large numbers of those who had fled west seeking political asylum. There was also a heavy price to pay by the Hungarian, German, Bulgarian and Macedonian nationalities of Yugoslavia for their "defection" i.e. for having rejoiced in 1941 at rejoining their old country:

39

The communist takeover was immediate. The nationalization of businesses and a radical land reform were soon carried out. Plans for an ambitious industrialization program, however, had to be sidelined. Yugoslavia's catastrophic economic situation forced Tito to find some original solution for his country's problems. Having quarreled over his "divisionist" policies with Stalin in 1948, he sought out support from the West. Tito also needed internal peace with the non Serb population of Yugoslavia. Most of them were granted a nominal territorial autonomy that acquired real meaning with time. A relatively high living standard, due in part to western contacts brought public discontent, especially as in the other "peoples' democracies" next- door living standards continued to fall. The peoples of Yugoslavia realized that if Tito was ousted, a true Stalinist would take his place. Thus a certain consensus was established in the country. However, its economy, based on self-management principles, never took off. Croatian nationalism was reborn in the 1970s. Bulgaria started to revive its claim to Macedonia. Intellectuals were in full ferment. Meanwhile, Marshal Tito obtained international prestige by his participation in the non-aligned Movement. After Tito's death in 1980, and in particular since the end of the Soviet military threat, there was no holding back popular discontent. As elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, communism declined in all the republics of Yugoslavia except in Serbia and Montenegro, where it became an ally of Serbian nationalism. Everywhere else the rejection of Serbian authority became the rule: Slovenia and Macedonia seceded, as did Croatia precipitating a bloody civil war. The Albanians of Kosovo declared autonomy, and the Hungarians of Vojvodina organized a self-defense movement. At the present time Yugoslavia is undergoing a crisis that will probably prove fatal to it: only a bloodbath of the nationalities who demand their independence and the re-establishment of a brutal dictatorship could prevent the dissolution of the country. Blobsheim, November 27th, 1991 by Istvan Hunyadi, historian

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

Appendix I

Excerpt from Mazowiecki's report on the Vojvodina sent to the United Nations Human Rights Committee

on February 10th.

182. The special Rapporteur, in his report to the General Assembly at its. forty-seventh (A/47/666), described in some detail the situation of Hungarians who constitute the biggest minority among the population of Vojvodina, as well as that of Croats and other minorities since the province lost its autonomous status in 1990. Verbal and physical threats of intimidation, including setting houses on fire and destroying cultural and religious monuments, have been practiced by the Serbs. A considerable number of Hungarians and Croats have left the province, mainly because of the climate of insecurity prevailing since the loss of autonomy and subsequent reinforcement of Serbian rule. Young men who refused to serve in the Serbian army have also fled. The fighting in other parts of former Yugoslavia has led to a considerable influx of Serbian refugees, which together with the departure of Hungarians and Croats, has changed the ethnic structure of the province and has aggravated the tensions between the different communities.

183. During the last few months, information similar to that reflected in the previous report, especially concerning cases of intimidation in the region of Srem/Backa, has been received by the Special Rapporteur. It has been reported that in Srem, many people, main1y Croats, have left the vil1ages of Hitkovci, Kijevci and Novi Slankamen as a result of threats and the bombing of houses. In the villages of Beaka and Golubinci, the whole Croat popu1ation has left.

184. It has been reported that minorities have been harassed by having shots fired at them and by threatening telephone calls and .letters, and that some have been physically threatened and their houses bombed. It is alleged that the police have acquiesced in some of the incidents which have been attributed to individuals.

185. The drafting of young men of all origins still constitutes one of the concerns of the non-Serbian population who do not wish to become involved in hostilities against other national groups. Summons for military service and mobilization are no longer by official letter, since that procedure allowed sufficient time for young men who wanted to avoid military service to leave the region. Men are now taken by the police from their places of work to serve in the army.

186. According to official sources, school programs in ethnic languages

52

are provided on the condition that there are at least 15 students. If such is not the case, the language is taught as a foreign language. The Serbian language is now obligatory for all students, while Hungarian is no longer required for Serbian students,

187, Under a new press law, the independence of the only Hungarian daily has been curtailed, According to the minorities, radio and television programming in their language is limited to translations of Serbian news broadcasts. Official paper supplies are no longer provided on a regular basis to the ethnic press and they consider that the financial aid given by the authorities is inadequate.

188. The Special Rapporteur received many reports concerning the declining economic situation, the constantly rising inflation and the difficulties experienced by the local population in obtaining basic goods and medical care.

189. During the election campaign for the elections of December 20th, 1992, the leaders of the ,Hungarian and Croatian parties were allegedly harassed and intimidated. Both groups took an active part in the elections and invited the population to participate. As a result, the Hungarian political party is represented in the House of Citizens of the Federal Assembly, in the Assembly of' the Republic of Serbia and in the Provincial Assembly of Vojvodina; it obtained 55 per cent of the seats in the City Assembly of Subotica. The Croatian political party did not succeed in being represented at the federal level, but is represented in the Provincial Assembly and other local assemblies. Croats and Hungarians together obtained two-thirds of the seats in the City Assembly of Subotica. Accoing to the CSCE mission, "in Serb-dominated areas in the southern part of the province, the Socialist Party and the Serbian Radical Party carried the day".

190. The continuing pressure exerted upon the non-Serbian segment of the population together with the growing number of Serbian refugees exacerbate the tensions between the various communities. The harassment of minorities continues, as does the compulsory drafting of men into the army. The control of Serbian authorities over the education system and the mass media has been tightened and, due to the economic crisis, living conditions in general are deteriorating. As pointed out by the CSCE mission, "one might say that a considerable part of the Serb population in Vojvodina is inclined toward nationalist ideas as a reaction against the relatively strong force of minorities". These factors demonstrate the uncertainty of the situation, which cannot be considered as conducive to the full enjoyment of human rights.

53

Appendix II

THE PARTIZANS

Heroes or villains?

It depends on your side! If they are „working” for you, heroes. If they are against you: villains. The same definition applies to Yugoslavia, Viet Nam, Palestine, Iraq, etc. In any case, it is the people who suffers mostly. They die by the hundreds of thousands. And the Geneva Convention is not aplicable to them.

In 1941, the illegally settled Serb Dobrovoljacs (colonists), Serb Royalist Chetniks and Tito's Serb Partizans started the killings in Voivodina. Whoever starts guerilla warfare has to bear the responsibility and accept the consequences. However, the victors are never prosecuted the loosers are.

Since the Vietnam war, we all know how the partisan forces are organized in any country, where the terrain is suitable for hit and run operations and provides good sanctuaries:

The Partisans start with a few tough guys, who have the killer instinct and originated from the village they are about to organize. They slip in during the night, wake up some men and tell them, that from now on they are part of the partisan unit and have to obey orders or else, few will resist. Those who do are killed on the spot, sometimes with the whole family watching. The word spreads fast about the punishment. From then on, nobody in his right mind would resist the "call to arms". During the day, most of them work in the fields like any other law-abiding citizen. At nightfall, they dig up their submachine guns and do what was ordered.

First they order a local boy to kill a sentry of the occupying force, a policeman or a village elder, on a dark, overcast night. They usually mutilate the body to make sure that the unfortunate victim's buddies get really mad at the unseen foe.

At this point, the commander of the occupying force orders an investigation. His angry men, out to avenge the gruesome death of their buddy, grab someone, who under duress, will confess to the heinous crime or accuse somebody else. In either case the fingered man either "resists arrest" and killed or "hangs himself". In "retaliation" the partisans get bolder and with local help, whole police detachments are annihilated.

54

From then on all hell breaks loose. The general fear and distrust takes over. In racially mixed villages, after living together in relative peace for hundreds of years, the animosity grows by the day. Eventually the situation gets out of hand, a junior officer or his men will start the indiscriminate killing.

This is the only reason for the partisan organization. The military effect of them in a densely inhabited, civilized country is negligible. A well placed, unarmed saboteur could inflict more damage on a military or industrial target than a ragtag partisan army ever could.

As a fighting force, Tito's partisans were totally ineffective when they came down from the mountains and were forced into the role of the infantry.

When the war ended, that was a different matter. They were set upon the unarmed civilians or disarmed soldiers. That is when the indiscriminate killing started on a truly wholesale and gruesome basis. They massacred Hungarians, Croatians, Germans and the Chetniks of General Mihailovits, their own kin, with equal abandon. They were true to their national character and communist indoctrination.

In Vietnam, the situation was different, but only to a certain extent. The terrain was excellent for hiding, booby trapping and ambushes. The populace was mostly homogeneous. The leadership of the Viet Kong knew that in "set piece battles", they didn't have a chance. So they followed the teachings of Mao ruthlessly and to the letter. The poor peasants had no choice, they were either killed by the Americans, or if they did not obey, by the Viet Kong. Most of the 58,000 U.S. men killed in action were murdered by the peasants, who neither had the desire to kill nor to be killed. They would rather have lived in peace.....

The real war criminals were not the Hungarian Sergeant Kovacs in Novi Sad (Újvidék)Vojvodina or the American Lieutenant Calley at My Lai, although nobody can condone the hideous crimes they have committed. We should not forget what they had to endure for months on end, not only the threat of instant death, which sometimes would have been salvatione but the very real possibility of being maimed for life, blinded or mutilated by a peasant girl who was forced in this mess by the horrible circumstances.

The real war criminals were not our fathers, brothers, sons, but Mao, Ho Si Minh,

Stalin, Tito, and their henchmen, who coldly, premeditatedly forced this

aberration on the human race.

S.J. Magyaródy

55

ENDNOTES 1 This Information is based on two reports (written In September and December of 1991), one of which is signed by the True March Group (Osijek. Croatia), the other by an individual, whose name is being withheld for reasons of personal security. 2 The Chetniks are members of a paramilitary extreme nationalist organization which was founded towards the end of the nineteenth century with the aim of creating “Great Serbia”. During World Wars I and II they practiced guerilla warfare and committed large-scale atrocities. Since the declaration of Independence of Slovenia and Croatia In 1991, the Chetnics have fought alongside the federal Yugoslav army against the Croats. In order to drive them (and other nationalities living there) off of their lands and thereby increase Serbia's territory. 3 This information is available from the S.O.S.. Transylvania-Geneva Committee. 4 In Hungarian: Vajdasági Magyarok Dcmokratikus Közössége, VDMK. 5 The Hungarian language radio program in Vojvodina. 6 “Hungarian Word” 7 In Hungarian: Vajdasági Magyarok Dcrnokratikus Közössége: VMDK. 8 This Information Is compiled from an article published in the "Magyar Szó" (May 9th, 1991) and various articles published in the "VMDK Hirmondó" (July 6th, 1991, August 2nd 1991, September 27th, 1991) 9 In Hungarian: Vajdasági Magyarok Demokratikus Közösége, VMDK. 10 Presidential decree No. 97, of June 24th. 1991 11 In Hungarian: Vajdasagi Magyarok Demokratikus Közössége, VMDK. 12 Encyclopaedia Britannica, under Hungary 13 . "Hungary - a short history". Edinburgh University Press. 1962.

14 See Károly Kocsis and Kocsisne Hódosi Eszter: “Magyarok a határainkon túl a Kárpát-medencében", Budapest, 1991, p.63. 15 Presidential decree No. 97, of June 24th, 1991 16 André Sellier et Jean Sellier: Atlas des peuples d'Europe Centrale, Edition La Dékouverte, Paris, 1991. 17 Encyclopaedia Britannica, ibid. 18 Encyclopaedia Britannica, ibid.

19 As a consequence of the Turkish invasion, Hungary was administered in three parts: Central Hungary was occupied the Turks, the Western part came under Austrian rule and was referred to as "Royal Hungary" and only Transylvania remained under the leadership Hungarian princes. 20 Croatia's liberation from the Turks was the subject of two peace treaties (the Treaty of Karlowitz, 1699 and the Treaty of Passarowitz, 1718). 21 Encyclopaedia Britannica, under Yugoslavia 22 Francois Fejtő: "Requiem pour un empire defunt". Ed. Lien Commun, Paris, 1988.

23 The ustashi (in Croatian: ustasa means 'revolutionary) rebel were members of a Croatian extreme nationalist organization, founded in 1929 by Ante Pavelic, an advocate of Croatian Separatism. They were known for their extreme brutality which resulted in the execution of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Roma among others during World War II. 56